Please enjoy this short fairy harp track, funded with thanks to Arts Council of Ireland.
“Fado, fado in Eireann; a long long time ago in Ireland. There were a band of noble creatures called the Tuatha De Dannan. I say there were noble, but they were kicked outta heaven for being a bit too smart; and as they floated around, down from heaven looking for somewhere to live, they spotted Ireland off in the distance and they thought, oh! Sure we’ll land there for a while and see how we get on. And they lived happily in Ireland for many centuries and their king was called the Daghda and this king was the king of the fairies because ya see, the Tuatha De Dannan were the original fairies.
Their King, the Daghda, was very powerful. He had a magical harp called Uaithne, and this magical harp would only play for him. The Daghda played three kinds of music on his magical harp Uaithne. These were kinds of music with very particular jobs. The first kind of music was called the geantrai. The geantrai had the very important job of making us feel happy and joyful. Whenever the Daghda struck up a geantrai on his magical harp Uaithne, people would be overcome with joy. The second kind of music that the Daghda, the original King of the fairies played on his magical harp was called the goltrai. The goltrai had the very important job of helping us to feel very sad. Whenever the Daghda played a goltrai on his harp, the people would be overcome by incredible sadness at how beautifully sad his goltrai was. The last kind of music that the Daghda, the king of the fairies played on his magical harp Uaithne, was called the suantrai. The suantrai had the very important job of helping us to feel restful and sleepy. It is said that the Daghda could put entire armies to sleep with the beautiful tones of his suantrais, his lullabies. It’s also said that from these three original strains of music, the geantrai, the goltrai and the suantrai, that all Irish music came, and perhaps all the music from all around the world originated from the magical music from the Daghda and his harp.”
Tune:🎵 King of the Fairies trad. Arr Aisling Ennis (Traditional Irish Hornpipe) 🎵
“Fado, fado in Eireann; a long long time ago in Ireland. There were a band of noble creatures called the Tuatha De Dannan. I say there were noble, but they were kicked outta heaven for being a bit too smart; and as they floated around, down from heaven looking for somewhere to live, they spotted Ireland off in the distance and they thought, oh! Sure we’ll land there for a while and see how we get on. And they lived happily in Ireland for many centuries and their king was called the Daghda and this king was the king of the fairies because ya see, the Tuatha De Dannan were the original fairies.
Their King, the Daghda, was very powerful. He had a magical harp called Uaithne, and this magical harp would only play for him. The Daghda played three kinds of music on his magical harp Uaithne. These were kinds of music with very particular jobs. The first kind of music was called the geantrai. The geantrai had the very important job of making us feel happy and joyful. Whenever the Daghda struck up a geantrai on his magical harp Uaithne, people would be overcome with joy. The second kind of music that the Daghda, the original King of the fairies played on his magical harp was called the goltrai. The goltrai had the very important job of helping us to feel very sad. Whenever the Daghda played a goltrai on his harp, the people would be overcome by incredible sadness at how beautifully sad his goltrai was. The last kind of music that the Daghda, the king of the fairies played on his magical harp Uaithne, was called the suantrai. The suantrai had the very important job of helping us to feel restful and sleepy. It is said that the Daghda could put entire armies to sleep with the beautiful tones of his suantrais, his lullabies. It’s also said that from these three original strains of music, the geantrai, the goltrai and the suantrai, that all Irish music came, and perhaps all the music from all around the world originated from the magical music from the Daghda and his harp.”
Tune:🎵 King of the Fairies trad. Arr Aisling Ennis (Traditional Irish Hornpipe) 🎵
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Fairy Harp QR Recital Project expands on artistry from her 2023 lecture-recital series 'Fairy Harp Ceol Sí' which was funded by Wicklow County Council. I hope that these short snippets of harp music and info elevate your experience of Russborough's beautiful fairy trail walk.
Copyright Aisling Ennis 2024
Copyright Aisling Ennis 2024